New applications, devices, and modes of learning are responsible for an ever-escalating bandwidth demand that colleges and universities can't afford to ignore.
Spurred by the BYOD trend, campuses are dealing with the need for enhanced mobile coverage--from basement classrooms to new construction. Three schools share their experiences establishing DAS networks.
Stanford University has several formal programs and informal networking efforts aimed at connecting innovative students with real-world opportunities, in numerous fields from engineering, to medicine, to economics. Faculty and administrators have a selection of avenues to give an assist to a bright student seeking a chance to become an entrepreneur. Here, CT learns about the support many students have received for their entrepreneurial IT projects.
Celly has unveiled its free group texting service, which allows schools and universities to create "cells," or private virtual groups, for class discussions, polls, and more. Celly simultaneously launched an Android app, which will be available for free download on Google Play.
Apple's iOS may be the dominant operating system in the tablet market; but among smart phones, Android is the reigning powerhouse. And its lead is growing. In the second quarter, shipments of Android-based smart phones worldwide more than doubled from an already dominant position to capture more than two-thirds of the overall smart phone market.
Nearly 25 million tablets were sold in the second quarter of 2012 (up from 18.7 million in Q2 2011), with Apple accounting for more than two-thirds of those shipments, according to preliminary data from market research firm IDC. Meanwhile, in the same quarter, worldwide smart phone shipments saw a similar dramatic increase--to 152 million units from 108 million in the same quarter last year--with Samsung by far the dominant player.
Over the last two years, nearly half of faculty have moved away from a traditional lecture model and adopted a range of technology-driven teaching practices, according to new research released in the last week.
Institutions need to take a dual approach to their mobile strategy.
Worldwide shipments of tablets increased significantly in the first quarter of 2012, driven by strong sales of Apple's iPad. But owing to a slump in Android tablet sales, overall growth was weaker than expected. Meanwhile, on the smart phone front, Apple dropped to second place as Samsung more than tripled its unit shipments in the quarter to land in the top slot.
Texas A&M and Tulane University will be among the first universities to adopt the "Voice in the Cloud" managed service being offered by the educational communications networking consortium Internet2 in collaboration with telecommunications vendors Aastra and Level 3 Communications.
